Intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells with high performance cobalt-doped Pr0.5Ba0.5FeO3-δ anodes

Highlights: • Cobalt doped Pr_0.5Ba_0.5FeO_3-δ was investigated as oxide anode materials. • Excellent electrochemical performance was obtained at T ≤ 750 °C. • Intermediate-temperature symmetrical SOFCs demonstrated good power output. Cobalt doped Pr_0.5Ba_0.5FeO_3-δ perovskite exhibits superior electrochemical performance when it was tested as an anode for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell. For the anode with a composition of Pr_0.5Ba_0.5Co_0.25Fe_0.75O_3-δ–Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_2-δ, the polarization resistance R_p was as low as 0.05 Ωcm² at 700 °C in air and 0.21 Ωcm² at 700 °C in 3% H₂O–97% H₂. In addition, this full-ceramic anode was tolerant to 50 ppm H₂S and showed stable performance during the preliminary test. The ceramic composite also exhibited superior activity for cathodic oxygen-reduction-reaction (ORR), thus enabled a symmetrical fuel cell. In a lab designed full-ceramic symmetrical fuel cell, a power density of 0.75 Wcm⁻² at 750 °C has been achieved, demonstrating the superior properties of this oxide.